August 27, 2013

Big Story Weather – August 27, 2013

by editor

redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly

Big Story Weather from August 26:

The heat continued across the High Plains with temps soaring into the 97-103F range along with heat index values near 110F. Severe weather was limited yesterday, however we did have very large hail in Minnesota at 3.75 inches in diameter. The strongest straight line winds came from North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona were all places saw gusts in the 60-65mph range. Warm weather continued out West along with dry conditions.

Big Story Weather Discussion for August 27:

Surface Map: High pressure along the Gulf Coast will bring dry weather to the region along with warmer weather as temps will head into the mid 90’s today. A frontal boundary moving through the Great Lakes will set the stage for severe weather today. High pressure over the Rockies will keep the West dry and hot with more high fire dangers. The Northern Plains will be warm again today with many places approaching the 100F mark along with heat index values near 110. The Southwest will see another day of afternoon thunderstorms.

Severe Weather: The threat for severe weather will be greatest along the Great Lakes where we could see large hail, damaging winds and flooding. Thunderstorms over Southern Florida will bring heavy rainfall to the area. Severe weather over the Southwest will consist of heavy rainfall along with some damaging winds.

Tropical Weather: The basin is tranquil this morning, but don’t let your guard down this week. We could see action really start to intensify into the weekend for the basin.

Select City Forecast:

Boston MA: Partly cloudy and cool with a high near 63F and lows near 60F.

Dallas TX: Partly cloudy with a few evening thunderstorms. High temps around 93F and low temps near 75F. Total rainfall will be around 0.15 inches.

Minneapolis MN: Partly cloudy with a few afternoon thunderstorms and very hot. High temps around 95F and lows near 75F. Total rainfall amounts near 0.15 inches. Heat index values will also be near 110 today.

Denver CO: Partly cloudy and nice with a high near 83F and lows near 63F.

San Diego CA: Partly cloudy with a high near 78F and lows near 68F.

August 27, 2013 Storm Tracker Update:

Eastern Pacific Ocean: Low pressure moving to the north of Hawaii is bringing some very high surf to the region. Low pressure moving towards Western Canada will bring showers to the region. An area of low pressure off the coast of Mexico is being watched for possible tropical development today.

Atlantic Ocean: Low pressure moving through the Great Lakes will bring showers/thunderstorms to the region with the potential of severe weather. Low pressure moving towards Greenland will bring showers to the region. Low pressure moving towards England will bring showers to Northern Europe.

Western Pacific: Tropical Storm Kong-Rey has formed just to the east of Manila with winds around 45kts and pressure of 989mb. The storm should gain some strength as it moves northward towards Japan with possible landfall over Southern Japan. Low pressure moving east of Japan will bring showers to portions of Japan.

Indian Ocean: The southwest monsoon will bring more rainfall to the region from India to Sri Lanka along with increased convection over the open ocean to the southwest of Sri Lanka.

Southern Hemisphere: Multiple areas of low pressure moving through the basin with impacts being felt over Southern Chile and Argentina with strong winds, heavy rainfall and snow. A second low pressure is bringing showers and very strong winds to South Africa. A third low pressure is moving into Southwest Australia and will bring showers to the region.

Five-Day Storm Index Outlook for August 27-31:

Boston MA: The region will be impact free for the next few days and then a chance of thunderstorms on August 30 will bring slight to moderate impacts to the region.

Dallas TX: The region will see slight to moderate impacts over the next three days with afternoon thunderstorms in the area.

Minneapolis MN: The region will have slight to moderate impacts this afternoon with thunderstorms and then again on August 31 another round of thunderstorms will impact the region.

Denver CO: The area will start out impact free then as thunderstorms move into the region look for slight to moderate impacts from August 30-31.

San Diego CA: The region will be impact free for the next five days.

Climate Watch for August 22-26:

Boston MA: The period started with temps around 10 degrees above normal and then cooled to temps around 1-7 degrees below normal before finishing the period with temps around 5-6 degrees above normal.

Dallas TX: The past five days have been warm with temps around 6-8 degrees above normal.

Minneapolis MN: The past five days have been really warm with temps around 7-18 degrees above normal for the area.

Denver CO: The period started with temps around 1 degree below normal but the remainder of the period temps were around 2-6degrees above normal.

San Diego CA: The period started with temps around 1-2 degrees above normal and then a brief cool down with temps falling to 1-3 degrees below normal and then the period finished with temps around 2 degrees above normal.

Major Weather Impacts Discussion for August 27, 2013:

Day 1-3: High pressure over the Northern Gulf of Mexico will bring warmer and drier weather to the Gulf Coast and also into the Southeast. A frontal boundary moving across the Great Lakes will bring an area of showers and thunderstorms along with the chance for severe weather. The heat will build back over the Northern Plains again today with places hitting the 95-99F range and heat index values well over 110. The Rockies will remain dry and hot as well today with an enhanced fire hazard for the region. The Western US will remain dry and mild. Day two a frontal boundary will extend from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast bringing a few showers and thunderstorms to the region. The Gulf Coast will be under high pressure and very warm weather as temps will start to soar into the mid 90’s with heat index values approaching the 110 range. The Northern Plains will be hot again with temps approaching the 105F range along with heat index values near 115. The Rockies will remain dry and hot with a high fire hazard again. The period will end with a frontal boundary approaching the Pacific Northwest with showers. The Rockies will remain dry as another tropical system pushes towards the Baja.

Day 4-7: The period will start with a frontal boundary extending from the Southeast back into the Gulf Coast bringing showers and thunderstorms to the region. Another frontal boundary will push through the Northern Plains bringing showers and thunderstorms to the area. The southwest monsoon will bring more moisture into the Southwest. Day five a frontal boundary will still drape over the Southeast and Gulf Coast with more showers and thunderstorms, while another frontal boundary pushes into the Great Lakes bringing showers and thunderstorms to the area. The period will finish with a low pressure area and frontal boundary over the Northeast bringing showers to the region. High pressure will build in over the Northern Plains and Great Lakes and another boundary brings showers to the Gulf Coast. A stronger low pressure area will approach the Pacific Northwest with showers.

Day 8-12: The period will start with low pressure over the Northeast bringing rain showers to the region. High pressure will be over the Great Lakes keeping the weather nice. A weak frontal boundary will bring a few showers to the Northern Plains, while return flow begins to bring showers to the Gulf Coast. High pressure along the West Coast will keep the region dry and mild. Day ten an area of high pressure will bring tranquil weather to the Great Lakes and also the Northeast, while a frontal boundary will bring a few showers to the Plains. An easterly wave will be approaching the Windward Islands at this time as well. The period will end with a strong low pressure moving through the Northern Plains and Great Lakes bringing showers and thunderstorms to the region, while the tropical wave moves into Puerto Rico.

Long Range Outlook: The period will start with a frontal boundary over the Great Lakes bringing showers to the region, while the tropical wave approaches Eastern Cuba. The southwest monsoon will increase in coverage again during this time. The period will finish with a very strong low pressure area over the Great Lakes and Northeast and a tropical feature over Florida bringing heavy rainfall to the region.

Today's Spotlight Forecast is for Sioux Falls SD:

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with an isolated afternoon thunderstorm and hot. High temps around 101F. Winds from the east 2-7mph and lows near 74F. Total rainfall near 0.05 inches. Heat index values near 110 today.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy and hot with a high near 102F. Winds from the southeast 2-7mph and lows near 68F. Heat index values will be near 110.

Thursday: Partly cloudy and hot with a high near 98F. Winds from the southeast 2-7mph and lows near 69F. Heat index values will be near 105.

Friday: Partly cloudy and hot again with high temps near 102F. Winds from the southwest 2-7mph and lows near 68F. Heat index values will be near 110.

Saturday: Partly cloudy with an isolated afternoon thunderstorm. High temps around 105F. Winds from the southwest 2-7mph and lows near 67F. Total rainfall around 0.05 inches and heat index values near 112.

Ask The Weatherman for August 27, 2013:

Question: What are the high cirrus clouds made of?

Answer: Cirrus clouds are those thin wispy clouds you see floating well above the Earth’s. Usually these clouds form at around 20,000ft or higher. Because they are so high in the atmosphere, these clouds are usually made up of ice crystals as it’s very cold up there. These clouds can also be made by exhaust from a jet airplane. When this happens, we call it a contrail.

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Green Energy Weather Report for August 27, 2013:

Wave Energy: There will be slight to moderate amounts of energy along the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. The Southeast will have slight amounts of energy along with the Northern Gulf Coast. The Southwest will see moderate amounts of energy along with the Northwest.

Solar Energy: There will be ample amounts of solar energy for portions of the Northeast along with the Mid-Atlantic and into the Southeast. High pressure will also bring plenty of sunshine to the Gulf Coast. The Northern Plains will see ample amounts of energy today along with the Southern Plains. The Rockies will have ample amounts of sunshine associated with high pressure and this will spread into the West Coast as well.

Wind Energy: There will good amounts of wind energy over the Northern Rockies and also behind the surface low pressure in the Eastern Great Lakes.

Hydro-Energy: There will be minor amounts of energy over Southern Florida and also over Arizona and New Mexico. There will be ample amounts of energy from the Central Mississippi River Valley into the Great Lakes along the frontal boundary.

August 27 Weather and Your Wallet (Mobile AL):

High pressure over the region will bring warm and dry weather to the area.

Dining: There will be no issues with enjoying lunch at the park or at your favorite diner.

Transportation: There will be no weather impacts on travel, by car or air.

Shopping: Today will be a nice day to enjoy the outlet malls, however make sure to drink plenty of water as it will be warm.

Electricity: The area will see a moderate demand between 12PM-6PM for cooling. Otherwise the rest of the day will see normal demands as high temps rise to near 93F. This will bring around 18CDD’s to the area.

Yard Work: This morning would be the best time to get the yard work done.

Construction: There will be no weather delays to the outside projects today, however make sure to drink plenty of fluids as it will be warm.

Outdoor Venues: Today will be a nice day to visit Battleship park and enjoy the outdoors.